A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer's memories and views of his years in upcountry Sierra Leone from 1968 to 1970

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Our Immediate Area

Most of our day was spent teaching at the Holy Rosary Secondary School and at the Kenema Teacher's Training College. In our free time we visited our neighbors both where we lived and in villages that were nearby.
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Kenema: the town where we lived; located in Nongowa Chiefdom
of the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, it was the capitol of the Eastern
Province and also the name of the district within the Eastern Province where
Kenema Town was located. Kenema sat on the narrow railroad line that stretched
from Freetown, about 220 miles to the west, to the village of Pendembu about 25
miles to our east.

Mende Ethnic Group: The Mende were one of about 15 ethnic
groups in Sierra Leone. Located in the Eastern and Southern Province of Sierra
Leone. We lived among the Mende, although Kenema itself tended to be a bit more
diverse. In our neighborhood the Fula (Fulani) section chief Pa Maju Bah also
lived. There were also folks from the Lokko group, but Mende was the dominant group.

Dama Road:A
road heading from Kenema Town to the Dama Chiefdom (about 20 miles). The
southern route out of Kenema – it was on this road that we lived.

Nongowa Chiefdom: the chiefdom in the Kenema District or
section of the Eastern Province where we lived.

Tokpombu Nongowa: the next village to us on Dama Road – it
was here that I had the local blacksmith make two machetes for me (they were
made from old car springs and handles from old car tires), and it was here that
much Bondo activity took place.A
Mende village.

Bitema Nongowa: this quiet Mende village was about 3 or 4
miles south of Kenema on Dama Road. A small village of less than 10 huts, from
time to time we would stop here to watch Bondo activity. It was here that some
of my favorite photographs of Bondogirls were taken. In Bitema Pa Koroma lived. The headman or chief of the
village, he was a weaver of country cloth. He also amusingly teased me when I
visited by mimicking English speech (he only spoke Mende). With me, he would
pretend to be speaking English, and in fact it did sound like what English
small talk despite the fact that it was all nonsense. All the elders had a
great laugh (at my expense) the very first time we tried to talk to each other.

Gbenderoo Nongowa:Another Mende village on Dama Road, Gbenderoo was located about 10 to 15
miles from our house. It was here that I knew a man who was thought to have
religious (Muslim) training and magic abilities.It was also here (also in Bitema) that I collected spools of
country cotton thread.

Foindu Nongowa: a Mende village of about 20 huts, this was
where Mama Hokey Kemoh came from, where she had a 2nd home, and
probably where most her her Bondo activity hailed from. Mama Hokey was head of
the women’s Bondo Society in our area, and our mentor. She had another home in
Kenema across from ours. From time to time we would visit Foindu, a quiet
village about 1 or 2 miles off of Dama Road and about 4-6 miles from our house.

Limba Corner:a
very small village about 3 miles from our house along a bush road (trail) that
passed from Tokpombu towards the Moa River to our west. This village was
isolated and here members of the Limba ethnic group lived. The men tended to be
either laborers (a very common area profession) or more likely tended to be
palm wine dealers. They would climb palm trees, tap the trees for the sap, then
allow it to ferment to palm wine, before carrying it to Kenema town to peddle.
The wine had a strong yeasty taste.

Vaama Nongowa: a Mende farming village of about 10 huts near
the Moa River and about 4 miles from our house. It was here that Pa Sam and his
wife Massa lived. It was nearby here that they made a farm (rice, cassava) and
from time to time I would visit. Deep in the bush – this remote village had
everything including the farming, dugout canoe making, fishing (with nets), and
a very small goat herd.

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My Peace Corps Years 1968 to 1970 : Sierra Leone in West Africa This blog produced by Chad Finer

All photographs in this site are copyright protected and can not be used without my permission. From July 1968 to July 1970 I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in secondary education in upcountry Sierra Leone. by Chad Finer RPCV